The Green Story - The Philippines

August 5, 2011

13 00 N, 122 00 EA Quick Guide to the Philippines

Chapter 1: Where in the World?!

The Republic of the Philippines

✤ Located in South East Asia

✤ Known for its beautiful beaches (mainly Boracay), the friendly people, the delicious food, Manny Pacquiao, and of course, the traffic.

✤ A country of different cultures and influences (Asian/American/Spanish)

Some interesting facts:

✤ The Philippine Archipelago comprises of 7,107 islands.

✤ The Philippines is the 3rd largest Catholic nation in the world, behind Brazil and Mexico.

✤ The Philippines is the texting capital of the world.

✤ The Philippines has the highest proportion of users per population on Facebook. (93.9% of the population)

Chapter 2:Hello Mother Nature!

Storms

✤ Hundreds of Storms pass by the Philippines on a yearly basis.

✤ A lot of flooding always happens mainly because of the amount of trash. There are no specific ways or programs for proper trash management on a national level. Different cities/areas have different waste management methods. Some have none.

Waste

✤ The Philippines has a lot of trash period.

✤ There is a lack in educating everyone about even the simplest of things.Why paper bags over plastic bags? Why stop using styrofoam? Umm...

✤ There is also that sort of I don’t care attitude. “As long as my own house is clean, then I’m ok.” It is really hard to get rid of those bad habits of just throwing trash anywhere.

✤ Imagine this, The Pasig River, located in Manila used to be so beautiful and crystal clean. Nowadays it is nothing but a giant trash can.

Pollution

✤ Pollution is probably one of the more immediate environmental problems in the Philippines (mainly in Metro Manila).

✤ Manila is literally covered in SMOG. The main cause being the number of vehicles that travel along the main highways on a daily basis. There is also a lack of strictness when it comes to applying specific laws against smoke belching.

✤ It is sad to see that the Jeepney, once the icon of Philippine tourism, now represents reckless driving and smoke belching.

Chapter 3:What’s Happening?

Waste Management

SM Supermarket

✤ The largest Supermarket chain in the country

✤ The Green Bag initiative: SM encourages it’s customers to either bring their own bag or use (purchase) one of their re-usable bags for shopping every Wednesday. They have been doing this since 2007.

✤ At some SM Supermarkets (depending on the city), they have already pushed it even further by completely replacing plastic bags with paper bags.

Pepsi Philippines

✤ The Pepsi Bottle School Project

✤ A tie-up with Illac Diaz’s My Shelter Foundation that basically solved two problems with one great idea. They were able to properly “dispose” plastic bottles by using them to build schools.

✤ The campaign was a huge success because it was able to gather volunteers through Pepsi’s website www.sarapmagbago.com (translated as “change feels great”)

Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light)

✤ A Lighting initiative also from the My Shelter Foundation

✤ The equation is simple, grab an unused plastic bottle, fill it up with water, add some salt and some liquid bleach and there you have it! You can now light up a home.

✤ Since the Philippines is a 3rd World Country, not everyone can afford proper electricity. This simple technology solves that. It gives the less fortunate a chance at light through easier and more sustainable means.

✤ Bates 141 Philippines has been tasked to come up with a campaign that would encourage volunteerism among students and eventually reach Illac’s goal of lighting up 1 Million homes of the less fortunate by 2012.

✤ http://creativity-online.com/news/my-shelter-foundation-isang-litrong-liwanag-a-liter-of-light/228864

Motolite Batteries

✤ The Country’s leading automobile battery manufacturer

✤ The Motolite Balik Baterya (return your battery) campaign: A CSR program wherein Motolite gathers and collects used lead-acid batteries for proper recycling and production of new automotive and industrial batteries.

✤ In 2008, more than 254 metric tons of lead-acid was collected saving an estimated 361 cubic meters of landfill preventing the spread of toxic waste.

The Philippine Department of Energy

✤ A trade-in program located in major malls around the metro

✤ The Philippine Department of Energy offered to give away free CFL light bulbs in exchange for those old worn out light bulbs that used more electricity.

Gawad Kalinga (Bestow Care)

✤ A very popular organization known for building houses for the poor

✤ Gawad Kalinga Sunshineville located in Las Piñas specializes in making products out of rejected doypacks usually used as containers for juice products.

✤ They do not only provide a good livelihood for the women of that community, but they also solve a huge waste management problem for big companies like Zest-O and Coca-cola.

Against Pollution

Boysen

✤ The leading paint manufacturer in the Philippines

✤ Boysen KNOxOUT: The first air-cleaning paint in the world. The name says it all. NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) is one of the biggest contributors to the city’s smog. Boysen has decided to fight it.

✤ Manila is a very polluted place and this is caused by all the cars/buses/jeepneys that travel around the city. EDSA (one of our longest highways) is probably the most polluted area in the country.

✤ Boysen decided to apply KNOxOUT on most of the MRT (Metro Rail Transit) stops, which are located along EDSA. Today, more and more flyovers along EDSA are being painted with KNOxOUT.

✤ http://www.boysen.com.ph/products.do?item_id=15920

MMDA

✤ Metropolitan Manila Development Authority

✤ The MMDA recently launched their Anti-Smoking Campaign. This is according to Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act which bans smoking in public buildings and open public areas.

✤ The fines range from about $10 to $200 depending on the number of offenses. Of course, since rules are rarely followed, the basic thought is that if there’s no cop around to catch you, then go ahead, have a cigarette.

Coca-Cola Philippines

✤ The Green Billboard

✤ A partnership between Coca-Cola and the WWF.

✤ A 60 x 60 foot billboard filled with Fukien tea plants which absorb 13 pounds of Carbon Dioxide a year, for a total of 46,800 pounds.

Shell Philippines

✤ Shell FuelSave Unleaded & Diesel

✤ A new formula enriched with Shell Efficiency Improver designed to improve fuel economy.

✤ By getting the “most out of every drop”, which they claim, using Shell fuel decreases the bad effects of your car to the environment.

Formula Juan

✤ A Bates 141-led campaign for cleaner air

✤ The basic premise is simple. We want to change diesel jeepneys into LPG jeepneys, one jeepney at a time. It is a package that we have offered to clients such as Cecon.

Chapter 4: Observations...

The Sincerity toCreate Change is There!

It Just Has to Grow Bigger!

Things to considermoving forward:

✤ Create a campaign that is at a national level to ensure that more people are aware.

✤ Speak their language! Change mindsets of people before even asking them to do something for the environment. It all has to start with basic practices in their every day lives for them to fully understand what needs to be done.

Let’s Begin.